Cryptic Truth
by AnkouRavien
Summary: Elrios is saved. It's now peaceful and everyone lives happily, but Rena get a certain mission that will let her to the truth that makes her question the peaceful life of Elrios.


Elsword - Rune Slayer

Rena - Wind Sneaker

* * *

A thousand years ago, El Stone was stolen. The world was almost died, but a group of people called El Gang saved it. The world we're living now is peaceful.

"But that's where the legend ends," the Elder says with sad face. "Apparently the leader of El Gang is still in this world."

I lift my one eyebrow. "What? I don't get it. Thousand years has passed. Even the Queen of Nasod on their party is no longer exist."

"Rena," the Elder stares at me. "We, the Elves, are able to live longer than a thousand years. We know the truth."

I roll my eyes. "Then tell me the detail. I was born when the world is already "peaceful", you know?"

"In order to save the world, the leader sacrificed himself. He's cursed. We did some researches—and we believe he's still in this world," the Elder explains.

I tilt my head. "And why are you telling me this?"

She smiles at me. "You're our best warrior in this forest."

"Are you telling me to go find him?!" I ask in shock.

Unfortunately, she nods. "Please, Rena. I'm sure you're able to find him in Elrios. He has the curse symbol on his face. You know how the symbol looks like."

"The world is peaceful, right? Why do you need the best warrior? It's safe!" I protest.

The Elder shakes her head. "It's safe, but the curse isn't."

"I can't deny, can I?" I sigh. "Alright. If I'm not coming back, just assume I'm dead or something."

"And also please watch your attitude," the Elder warns.

"Yeah, right, granny," I reply lazily.

* * *

I go to the nearest village from our forest: Ruben Village.

...How do I find him? I don't even know what he's like!

"Are you new here?" the villager asks with a smile.

"Um... yeah," I nod. Can I let them know about my mission? I don't think so.

"Sis, your ears are weird."

I turn around to face this weird creature. A kid wearing a mask and hood.

The villager sighs. "That's not nice. Apologize."

The kid lowers his head. "I'm sorry."

"I-It's fine! No worries!" I laugh awkwardly.

The kid pulls my shirt. "Sis, help me please!"

What? I don't have time for you! "I'm sorry. I have something to do."

I think he's staring at me behind that mask. "Please."

That villager is just smiling? Great. "I really mean it. I have something urgent. I'm sorry."

"There you are!"

Now another villager is coming. "I'm sorry for the trouble." She turns to the kid. "Don't cause any trouble to stranger, dear."

The first villager moves closer to me. "I'm sorry to say this, but could you help him? He's from the orphanage and I think he suffers mental disorder," she whispers.

Mental disorder? At this age? Now I feel bad.

"Don't worry, miss. I'll help!" I smile and give a thumbs-up. "Name's Rena!"

"Yay!" the kid raises his hands. He pulls my hand. "Come with me!"

He takes me to the swamp. I can see a giant phoru lying on the ground. Wait, this is the Ancient Phoru! I wonder how long it has live.

"He's bleeding," the kid says as he points his hand at the phoru's arm.

I walk closer to the phoru. As an elf, I have the ability to heal something. I summon Airelinna, the healing fairy, to help me heal the phoru.

I caress the phoru. "There. He's fine now."

"You're awesome!" he shouts happily. "Thank you!"

"Um... I've been meaning to ask this," I lower my body to look closer at his mask. "Why are you wearing that?"

"Because I want to be an assassin someday! They'll recognize me if I show my face now, right?"

Okay? "Anyway, what's your name?"

He shrugs. "I don't remember, but my friends call me Masky."

Really? I guess I'll just have to accept everything and move on.

"Are you going now, sis?" he asks. I think he's a bit sad. "I'd be lonely."

I tilt my head. "Why? You have friends."

"They love to tease me. Sometimes I get unconscious because I'm beaten," he muttered.

That's not tease. That's bullying!

...Maybe spending the day wouldn't be a problem. "Just this day, okay?"

He nods. "Okay!"

* * *

We're spending our time by following Masky's weird idea. Not in a positive way, but also not negative. Weird, literally. For example, we tested 2 ice cubes. One of it is covered by sunglasses, and the other one is not. He wanted to know which one is going to melt first. We also tried to hunt a deer (Don't ask me why he wanted to hunt it). I was about to get attacked by the deer from my side and then he jumped to protect me—which is dangerous. Luckily I bring my bow to save both of us. He's so reckless.

Now, we're sitting on the bridge, looking up at the sky. "Do we able to reach the sky?" Masky asks.

"We do," I nod, "but we can't do that now," I continue before he asks for it.

"You're going tomorrow?" he asks again.

"Yeah," I sigh. For some reason, I don't want to leave this place.

"I don't want you to leave," he murmured.

Me neither.

"Can I come with you?"

"No. It's dangerous," I answer as I pat his head.

"Masky!" the villager from before comes. "I'm sorry to cause you so much trouble," she apologizes, "and thank you for taking care of him."

"It's fine. I was having fun," I smile.

"Let's go home, Masky," the villager pats Masky's head. "Do you need a place to rest? The inn is still open."

"Yeah, I do," I nod, "Thanks for the information."

"Bye, sis," he waves his hand.

* * *

The next morning, I come to the orphanage. I want to say goodbye one more time to Masky. Even though he's unpredictable, I had a lot of fun yesterday. "Is Masky here?"

"Yes, but..." the villager lowers her head, "He did that again."

I raise my one eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"Self-injury," she answers.

Wait, what? Was that what the first villager talking about yesterday about the mental disorder? "Can I see him?"

She nods. She takes me to his room.

He's still wearing the mask? That's weird.

Anyway, I don't think it's just self-injury. This is so bad. It's like he's trying to kill himself. Scars and bruises are all over his body. So this is why he wears a hood? Makes sense.

"Sis Rena?"

Oh... He's awake. "I thought you're already gone, sis."

"Well, I want to say goodbye for the last time," I reply awkwardly.

...Wait. I can feel evil presences.

"They're here," he mutters.

What? Who's here?

Suddenly, a silhouette figure appears and destroys his mask. After that, numerous silhouette figures appear one by one.

"You can't escape."

"What a cruel fate."

"You regret everything?"

"This is fun!"

What's with all these voices? Without thinking, I take Masky and get out of the place. I run as fast as I could.

After a few hours of running, I hide inside a cave. I think they're gone. Hopefully they're gone.

"What was that?" I sigh. "You okay?"

...?

Why is he crying?

"Um... I promise not to see your face," I say with a hope to make him stop crying.

"I don't want to get tortured again."

What? What is he talking about?

"Why can't I die?! I don't want to live!" he cries. "It hurts! It really hurts!"

"Masky?" I put him down and look at his face.

Th-That symbol! It can't be! "Elsword?"

He keeps crying. "My head hurts! Please, anyone, just make it stop! Just kill me already!"

This is so sad. He was really cheerful yesterday, but now I see him helpless like this.

"Somebody... Save me...!"

From the symbol, I can say for sure that this is Elsword. So this is the curse... He suffers a lot...

"Maybe you don't remember, but you saved the world once," I say as I put my hands on his cheeks.

"Now it's your time to be saved."

I summon Airelinna to heal him. It might not undo the curse, but I want to stop it for a moment. It has to stop.

Slowly, he stops crying. Did it work?

"It stops..." he murmurs.

The symbol is still there, though. "I could stop it for a moment. The elves could undo the curse, so hang in there, okay?" I pat his head.

"Curse?" he looks at me. Suddenly, he smiles. "You're prettier when I don't see you behind the mask!"

I can feel my face getting hotter. "Um... thanks."

He hugs me. "Thank you very much, sis. When the curse is back, I might not here anymore."

Huh? "What do you mean?"

"Every time they broke my mask, I'll get tortured. The next day, I'll be on different place," he explains as he lowers his head, "but I don't want to leave you."

"Then don't leave me. I'll help finding a way to undo your curse!" I pat his head.

Um... wait. "What happened to your left eye?"

"I don't know," he muttered.

"Anyway, for starter, your real name is Elsword," I smile at him. "Let's meet the Elder, shall we?"

* * *

I bring him back to the forest where I live.

"That was fast," the Elder comments. "We need him for now. Get some rest, Rena."

I lift my one eyebrow. "Where are you taking him?"

"To the sacred place."

In this forest, the Elves have the sacred place. Only someone like granny—I mean, the Elder—is allowed to enter the place.

"Alright then," I nod. I look at Elsword. "See you later!"

"Let's have fun later!" he smiles at me.

For now... I'm going to visit Altera. There's a library there. After hearing a lot about that legend from granny, I think I could find the Diabolic Esper's papers or something. Hopefully I can find something useful.

* * *

I go to Altera—to the library, I mean. This is my first time visiting library. I don't like reading, at all.

Let's see... whoa! There are lots of his books here! By lots, I mean 3. It's so many for someone who doesn't like reading like me.

I open the book lazily and start reading. I'm not expecting myself to understand anything, but I'm hoping there's something I could understand.

...

According to the first book I read, the Diabolic Esper is nothing like the legend. I could see how much he cared for El Gang, even though people said he joined because of the Code: Empress.

Well, that's not relevant to the current case. The book tells a complete detail about the curse. I wonder how he analyzed it. Going through time and space to find the same curse or something?

Sadly, he didn't find how to undo the curse. Let's see about the second book—nevermind. It's about time and space.

The third book... huh? Elves? Why did he do a research about elves? I grab the book and start reading it because of curiosity. I'm sure I could find other useful information about the curse, but I really want to know what he wrote.

...

...Huh?

 _"The Elves are interested in the curse. They have found a way to undo the curse in order to summon the demons back to the world. If this happened, the cursed person will be killed or become a demon."_

...Wait a second... That means I left Elsword in the wrong hand, right?

I open the last page before going out from this place—wait, what? This last page...

...I can borrow the book, right?

* * *

Alright! No time to waste! I'm going back to the forest as fast as I can and enter the sacred place. Elsword is sitting in front of the elders. "Elsword! Get out of there, now!" I shout.

Luckily, Elsword does as I say without asking a question. "What's wrong, sis?"

"What is the meaning of this, Rena?" the Elder asks with threatening voice.

"It just happened that I read one of Diabolic Esper's books," I answer as I show the book, "and I know what you're going to do with him."

The elder gives an evil smile. "It seems our best warrior wants to die."

Plan B: run. "Elsword, hold this for me," I give the book to him as I lift Elsword up with my hands and run away. I can't take all of them alone!

* * *

Thankfully, as the best warrior, I'm proud of my speed. I think I lost them.

I think.

"My mind is telling me that I can help you if you undo the curse," Elsword says all of a sudden.

"I wish I knew how to undo the curse, Elsword," I sigh.

Wait a second…

"What do you mean by 'if I undo the curse'?" I ask as I take the book from Elsword and continue to read.

"The healing fairy, Airelinna, might be able to undo the curse without killing the cursed person."

...What a coincidence.

I summon Airelinna and try to heal him again.

"She's cute," Elsword says as he looks at Airelinna.

The healing fairy smiles at him. She kisses his forehead. Slowly, the cursed symbol is fading away.

My goodness! What's with the sudden white light?! I can't see anything!

In front of me is... a teenage boy, which is Elsword. He seems confused about all this.

I look at him. Yeah, he's confused. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I guess?" He looks around. "I don't know what's happening."

I shrug. "Me neither."

Suddenly, he hugs me. "Thanks a lot, sis!"

"W-W-Wait! Why are you thanking me out of the blue?" I ask in shock.

He stops the hug. "My mind is telling me that you just helped me!"

Sigh... "You can't keep trusting your mind."

"I know this is a stupid question, but... do you know my name? I can't remember anything," he laughs.

I wish he's still cursed or something. "Your name is Elsword."

"Okay! Noted!" he smiles cheerfully. "What's this book?" he takes the book and opens it.

"Um... it's—"

"No picture? Too bad," he sighs and keeps opening every page until he finds the last page. "A letter for me?" he opens the letter. "Let's read it together, sis!"

 _"Hi, Elsword! I'm sure you're confused by all this, but I want you to know that we were your friends in the past."_

There's a photo of purple twintailed girl and blonde boy.

 _"Hey, Elbrat! We used to fight every single time! I'll be your grim reaper and take your life if you don't remember!_

 _Well, you know, sometimes I hate myself because I never apologize to you. I was rude, but I want you to know that it was all a joke. You were my best friend. I wish I could say all this when you're still with us, but looks like I was late. Thank you for everything._

 _Oh, note this to yourself, I became the best magician like I used to before I wore that stupid ring! Ask about Aisha and you'll hear thousand praises for me!_

 _-Aisha, Void Princess"_

"Aisha?" Elsword holds his head with his left hand. "I'm sure I know her, but why can't I remember anything?"

"Elsword, take it easy," I pat his head. "You'll remember her."

 _"Hey, Elsword! Hope you're doing fine there! You know, we used to play together on our free time! Sometimes we did some sparring. It was fun!_

 _Anyway, my dad was back to normal. After our long journey, I came back to Hamel. I almost forgot that I was the prince there. I really like how you treat me like normal people, not a prince. It's really great to have a friend like you!_

 _Hey, we might no longer here, but don't be sad. You're awesome! I'm sure you get a lot of friends in no time! You're not alone :D_

 _-Chung, Deadly Chaser"_

Elsword stops reading the letter. "What's wrong, Elsword?"

"My head hurts," he muttered. Probably because he's forcing himself to remember everything.

I grab his shoulder. "You can't remember everything in one day. Give it some time."

"No, that's not it," he shakes his head. "Sis, do you have food? Candy would be fine."

I tilt my head. "You're hungry?"

He nods. "Indigestion."

Well... I didn't expect that. "First of all, I want you to know that we're chased by a group of people and they're planning to kill us. We have a little time now, but I think we can grab some food." I stand up and lend a hand. "Let's go!"

He takes my hand and stands up. "I'm sorry."

We go to Elder Village and visit the nearest restaurant. I don't think he cares about the taste anymore. Honestly, this restaurant is going to bankrupt.

"You're okay now?" I ask as I drink my juice. For some reason, this juice tastes good.

He nods. "Luckily my stomach accepts every kind of food!"

So he does care about the taste...

"I still need time to recover, though," he adds. As he drinks the juice, he continues reading the letter.

On the other paper, there's a photo of a black haired guy and a blonde girl.

 _"Hi, Elsword. Hopefully you're fine without us around, and I'm sure you'll be fine._

 _We used to train together. I remember when you're still trying to be stronger than your sister until you decided to use magical power. You might not realize it, but you're already stronger than your sister, in different way._

 _I don't really have much to say. Just don't be reckless, okay?_

 _-Raven, Blade Master."_

"Magic?" Elsword tilts his head. "I can use magic?"

"Why don't you try something?" I suggest.

A few second after that, he successfully summons a rune from his hand. "That's weird," he comments, "It feels like I naturally did it."

I giggle. "What's your mind telling you this time?"

He starts smiling. "My mind is telling me that everything will be fine!"

No, it's not fine. Someone wants to kill us.

 _"Elsword! I want you to know that we only met for a year and how dare you leave me all of a sudden?! Just kidding. One year is enough to create precious memories. We used to tease Zero, my ball-like robot. Do you remember?_

 _I was hoping we could spar more. It's rare to see magic user like you. I mean, most of magic users were focused on their magical power, but you were using sword too. It's like you're confused about what to focus, but you told me that you're going for both physical and magical abilities. I helped you train with my robots!_

 _I'm sure you're going to be the best fighter there, even though if people were using guns or something. Don't give up!_

 _-Rose, Optimus"_

"So I used a sword too?" he asks confusedly. "For some reason I can relate myself to my past self!"

"That means you didn't change," I sigh. "Judging from the letters, I guess you're still troublesome."

The next page is a photo of white haired Nasod and white haired guy.

 _"Elsword, I still have the memory when we first met. I never had a chance to say this. I'm sorry I slapped you._

 _You were the first human who dare to be my friend. I was acting like you're nothing, but I want you to know that you're my precious friend. My system never realized this fact until I lost you. I think the same thing felt by Chung: I like how you dare to treat me like I'm not a queen. It's nice to have someone to talk normally._

 _As a Nasod, I shouldn't feel any emotions at all, but going to a journey with you made me feel weird. Suddenly my system can overheat over something and I feel like to slap someone if they're annoying. It's nice to know you because I can feel something new._

 _-Eve, Code: Empress"_

"Cool! I had Nasod as a friend!" he shouts happily.

"Glad to see your spirit back!" I smile at him.

 _"Hey, trash, please tell me you're not causing any trouble in the future. The past had enough with you and glad that you're gone for some time. The fact that you're back makes the doomsday come faster._

 _Read this carefully. I'm not expecting you to understand because you're so sh-t._

 _The Elves wanted you to die. In case the curse is gone, then they have no interest in you, which is sad because you're going to live. I told the others to make this letter together for you. I've come to the time when your curse is gone. I know everything, except you're not dead right after the curse is gone. What I've seen is you become a demon when you lost your memory for a certain amount of time. For f-ck's sake just get your memory back._

 _-Add, Diabolic Esper"_

Looks like Elsword had fun reading that one letter. "I feel like I always laughed while he's frustrated with everything. I don't remember, though," he giggles.

The next page is a photo of pink haired little girl—wait, that's a demon—and white haired guy.

 _"Hey, human! I can't believe a human like you is so friendly to a demon! People were always afraid of me, but what's wrong with you? You didn't fear me at all! Fear me!_

 _You're so nice to me. Remember when Ciel wasn't around me and I got attacked? You saved me from the enemies. I said I can do it by myself even though Ciel wasn't there. Actually, I was lying. I can't do anything without him, so you were a lifesaver._

 _By the way, we heard everything from Eve and Add. You saved the world, but you better remember everything and save yourself! Your only bad habit is that you care about other people but not yourself!_

 _-Lu, Chiliarch"_

"I wonder what kind of friends do I had," Elsword mutters, "They're so different and unique."

I shrug. "And now an elf is right next to you. I guess you're friend with many different kinds of living thing?"

He laughs. "I guess so."

 _"Hey, Elsword, I thought I could live longer from human since I made a contract with Lu. Remember when we put a bet on that? Well, I guess I lost._

 _We used to fight a lot—in the kitchen. Seriously, don't try to help me with cooking and things. You can't do it, even though I taught you. I hope you can cook in the future. I'll give you the easiest cake recipe and you better try it._

 _You were a great help. You might not realize it, but you helped us many times in fight. And you were so reckless that you almost got yourself killed for saving us. Hey, by the way, Lu got her power back. It's sad that you never saw her actual form, but I secretly put a photo in this letter. Turn the letter around and you'll find a cut in the middle of the paper._

 _-Ciel, Dreadlord"_

He chuckles. "I wish I could be a good help back then!"

"I wonder what you did in the kitchen," I sighed.

He turns the paper around. There's a cut in the middle of the paper. Inside of it is a photo of white haired woman—which is Lu.

Elsword compares the photo with the other one. "She changed a lot."

"What do you expect? You compare a girl with a woman," I reply.

"Hey, I get the recipe!" he shouts happily. "Can we try it later?"

"Well..." I give a forced laugh. "I don't think I could go back to my home after what happened."

"Then we just have to buy another house! I'll do some work after this!" he gives a peace symbol with his fingers.

Sigh...

The last page is a photo of black haired and red haired girl.

 _"Elsword! I really missed you! To be honest, I would be really happy if you got this letter. Even though I died, I'm glad that I can say something to you for the last time._

 _I knew that you forgive me, but I wanted to apologize for the last time. You lost your left eye because of protecting me from my brother. He was controlled by the demon. I was trying to stop you guys from attacking him, but my brother attacked me. You saved me and lost your left eye. I'm really sorry, Elsword._

 _Lastly, I wanted to thank you for everything. You were my close friend and you were always cheering me up when I was sad. I hope you're still the same in the future!_

 _-Ara, Sakra Devanam"_

Elsword puts his hand on his left eye. "So that's why..."

I'm surprised he's so calm about all this. "You're so reckless, you know that?"

He laughs. "I think I remember someone said that to me once!"

 _"Elsword, I spent my life searching for you. I'm sorry I can't find you sooner. I don't know what kind of curse that you got, but you must be suffering. I wish I was stronger to protect you, but as an older sister, I failed._

 _Do you remember when you're young? You always put yourself in danger by going out from home and went to random destination. I had to spend the whole day searching for you. I always found you not in a good condition. You were always injured, but you were always smiling and said it was fun. You said you did that because you wanted to be stronger than me. Do you know how much I worried about you?_

 _When the demon invasion started, I left you alone at home. I never came back like I promised, but suddenly we met at Velder. It seems that your bad habit made us met after 3 years. You're so reckless, you know that?_

 _On our journey, I realized something. You had a weird way to make friends, but I'm glad that they like you—and you care a lot about them. You're even willing to risk your life for them. I wish I had a strong will like you._

 _You wanted to be stronger than me. You did it, brother. Be proud of yourself._

 _Anyway, are you alone right now? If not, make sure you don't cause any trouble to other people, okay? Sometimes stupid idea is popped out in your mind. Be a good kid._

 _-Elesis, Grand Master"_

Elsword closes the letter. "It's not fair."

What? "Why?"

"I can't even say anything to them for the last time," he lowers his head with teary eyes. "And I can't even remember them."

"You will remember them," I hug him and pat his head. "You just need some time."

"Really?"

"Really."

"What if I become a demon before I remember everything?" he murmurs.

I break the hug and laugh. "Do you want to be a demon that bad?"

He crosses his arms. "What? No!"

I narrow my eyes and smile. "Then take as much time as you need."

He smiles back. "I wish we had you on our team back then!"

I startle. "What made you say that all of a sudden?"

"What should we do with someone who wants to kill us now? Kill them?" he asks with—surprisingly—an innocent smile.

I move away from him a bit. "You're scaring me. Why are you smiling?"

He tilts his head. "Hm? Because they're your fellows. Is it fine?"

Well... "I can't say it's fine, but I don't mind."

He smiles again. "They're coming. How about we move to somewhere else? I don't want to involve villagers."

Right... "Alright. Let's go."

* * *

We move to somewhere quieter. Just like Elsword said, they're here. "Give up, Rena," the Elder threatens.

Elsword giggles. "No. I won't allow you to kill her."

Seriously. What's wrong with him?

"Move, Elsword," the other Elder threatens with his bow directed at his head.

Elsword narrows his eyes and smiles evilly. "No."

Four giant runes appear around them. They get sucked in a black hole in the middle of the runes.

He summons magical swords from the ground. The runes explodes—

—and kill them instantly.

I can't believe he could kill them that easily. "Elsword?"

He smiles at me. "They won't hurt you, sis! You don't have to worry!" He walks toward me and hugs me. "You saved my life, so I won't let anyone hurts you!"

I smile and pat his head. "Thank you, Elsword."

I think I get it now—the reason he's so reckless while helping the others, the reason why he cares so much about his friends, and the reason why he took the curse to save the world.

How do I explain this... You know someone who can be obsessed with something they love and willing to do anything to protect them, even with violence? Well, Elsword is something like that. I think he's mentally unstable or something.

"Alright! Maybe we can go back to the forest and pretend none of this ever happened," I say with a forced laugh. "I'm going to give this book back to the library and we can try the recipe. Is it fine?"

He nods. "It's fine!"

* * *

For a month, I took him to look around on Elrios. Luckily, his memories are coming back. He can't remember everything, but he remembers about the El Gang.

"It's weird that Eve gone. I thought Nasod is immortal," I say when we're having breakfast. "Damn, Elsword. Too many salt!"

"No, it's not weird. I'm sure she's lost in time and space along with Add," Elsword disagrees. "And I'm sorry for the breakfast!"

I lift my one eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Add must be going to different timeline to find out how to undo the curse. He said that doing that too much will cause him to loss in time and space. Eve is always with Add, so she's also got lost in time and space with Add," he explains.

"That's complicated," I comment. "Where should we go now? This place changes a lot in a hundred years, right?"

He nods. "You're right! Let's go to Velder. I love that place now! It was like an abandoned village a hundred years ago."

I giggle. "Okay then. Let's go after breakfast."

"Sure!" he smiles with his creepy smile again. I get used to it already.

"I'll protect you, sis Rena!"

* * *

 _It just happened that I had this weird idea and decided to write a story about it. I think the story itself is weird XD_

 _Elsword isn't really my thing anymore. I should've continue the other story rather than making this one-shot ._._

 _Thanks for reading!_


End file.
